a1788: BBC: Radio Metropole news 24 Apr o2 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>




Haiti: Highlights of Radio Metropole news 1145 gmt 24 Apr
02
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 25, 2002



Figures in brackets indicate length of time of each item

1. Headlines (4 min)

2. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide expresses once again
his desire to reach a political agreement with the
opposition to resolve the crisis that has been going on now
for 23 months. The head of state met with OAS mission chief
David Lee yesterday. Lee did not talk about the urgency to
put an end to the political crisis issued from the 21 May
elections. (2 min)

3. The OAS technical mission has begun its consultations in
the country with a working session with the president of
the Republic. Mission Chief David Lee refrained from
commenting on the country's situation. Instead, he
announced the implementation of an action plan within the
framework of the mission's activities. Ambassador Lee said
that his meeting with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was
fruitful. Other meetings will take place with other
democratic sectors in Haiti. (3 min)

4. Gerard Pierre-Charles of the Convergence comments on the
statement made by President Aristide yesterday.
Pierre-Charles said that President Aristide said some nice
words as usual but the opposition wants action. For
instance, he said, there are a lot of constraints for the
implementation of OAS Resolution 806, and President
Aristide does not take that into consideration. The OAS has
adopted some clear resolutions, and the Convergence hopes
that the OAS will get Aristide to honour his words. The
opposition has never encouraged violence, Pierre-Charles
said. The opposition did not encourage the events that took
place on 17 December. They encourage negotiation and a
political agreement, and hope that with the international
constraints and the Haitian situation that is ready to
burst, Aristide will use the language of reason,
Pierre-Charles said. (5 min)

5. The Black Caucus of the US Congress has intervened again
in the Haitian crisis. The members presented a resolution
asking the US government not to condition the unblocking of
humanitarian assistance on the resolution of the political
crisis. The Black Caucus protests against the freezing of
the US and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) aid to
Haiti. (2 min)

6. Ads (6 min)

7. The underprivileged classes said that they just cannot
deal with their deteriorating living conditions any longer.
They criticize the bad faith of the leaders regarding an
improvement in the country's economic situation. Reporter
Cossy Roosevelt, who is conducting man-on-the-street
interviews, explains that the people's purchasing power has
plummeted but the prices of basic products are going up.
The situation is very difficult for vendors and consumers
alike. People complain about the high cost of living and
their inability to meet their families' basic needs. (2
min)

8. Officials of CADEC, one of the country's most important
cooperatives, are now in difficulty. Armed men who said
they were with the Haitian National Police (PNH) held CADEC
Director Jean Clermont Cesar hostage and told him to give
them back the money they invested. One of the directors,
(Luc Elivert), said that CADEC customers who possess
firearms are now creating a situation of panic for other
clients. He said that the men want to find out where CADEC
officials live so they can go and take them hostage.
Elivert said that the armed men in question are members of
the Intervention and Maintenance of Order Company (CIMO)
and that he knows their names. (3 min)

9. The Chamber of Deputies, which is dominated by the
ruling party, cannot reach a quorum to hold sessions.
Chamber President Rudy Heriveaux is in a quandary about
what to do. Jean Wilkens Melronne reports that the work of
the new office is quite difficult; there are drawers full
of projects and bills, but the deputies are not there to do
the job. (2 min)

10. The president of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti
spoke about the prolonged detention of General Prosper
Avril. Hubert Constant condemns the way they treated Avril,
who is a former president of the Republic. Constant said,
"//A president is a symbol of an institution, of a
presidency. I was not there when Avril was arrested again
but when I heard what was reported in the press, I then
deplored the fact that they had to brutalize and humiliate
him that way. We must be careful what we do because if we
want other countries to respect us then we must have
self-respect.//" (3 min)

11. Ads, international news (12 min)

12. News summary, ads (4 min)

13. Economic segment with Kesner Pharel (4 min)

14. Ads (3 min)

15. Special Guests of the Day: (Goodson Pierre) and Chiler
Jean-Baptiste on National Internet Day. Several activities
will be held to mark the occasion. (17 min)

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt
24 Apr 02

/¸ BBC Monitoring

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC



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